It’s official: I’m here to announce the dates for Scott Kelby’s 4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk™ to celebrate the upcoming release of my book, “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it” and you’re invited to be a part of this amazing global, social photography event.

Here’s a quick Q&A with all the details.

Q. When is the official Photo Walk™ day?
A. This year leaders can choose to host their walk on either Saturday OR Sunday, October 1st and 2nd.

Q. Why two days?
A. We got tons of feedback from people who, for work, religious, or other reasons couldn’t participate in any walk on a Saturday, so we added the ability for leaders to host a walk on either Saturday or Sunday to give more photographers a chance to participate.

Q. But I don’t like this change!
A. I know. I know. There will be a few people who will be totally cranked that we added a day, but we did it based on feedback from people around the world, so it wasn’t just an arbitrary decision (nothing regarding this walk is, believe me). Besides, there are bigger issues in the world today than adding a day to the Photo Walk, so it’s OK if those folks just kinda let this one go.

Q. Why October? I loved sweating in the sweltering summer sun!
A. Again, we did it based on your feedback (well, maybe not your feedback, but feedback from lots of walkers who were drenched and exhausted at the end of their walk). We thought either spring or fall work work best, so we went with fall. If it doesn’t work out, we can always try Spring next year.

Q. What exactly is a Photo Walk?
A. Watch the short video clip above on and you’ll get the idea.

Q. Is there a fee to participate this year?
A. Once again it’s totally free—there is no fee to join this year’s walk—just come and have a ball!

Q. Do you have any cities signed up with Photo Walks yet?
A. Yup—lots of them all over the world!

Q. How did those cities gets walks already?
A. We always give the previous year’s Photo Walk leaders the first opportunity to lead a walk again this year (after all—they’re seasoned leaders).

Q. How many cities participated last year, and how many photographers did the Photo Walk that day?
A. We had:

  1. More than 30,000 photographers around the globe
  2. We had more than 1,000 walks worldwide
  3. More than 6,000,000 photos were taken on walks during that one day

Q. How can I find out if there’s a walk in my area?
A. Go to the official Worldwide Photo Walk website and click on the “Find Walks” link at the top right, then type in the city, state, and/or country where you want to walk, and if there are any walks already organized, they’ll be listed on the right side (and you’ll see pins on the map in your area).

Q. How can I lead a Photo Walk?
A. You apply over at the official Worldwide Photo Walk website and click on the “Lead a Walk” button (or just click here). While you’re there, make sure you watch the brief video I made for you to explain what’s entailed in being a Photo Walk Leader.

Q. What does it take to become a Photo Walk Leader?
A. We’re looking for people who have experience leading groups, so if you’re the president of your local camera club, or a college teacher, or photography instructor, or you run a local camera store, or you’ve lead Photo Walks in your area before, etc., you’re likely to get accepted to be a leader. We ask for your qualifications on the leader application, and that’s the type of experience we’re looking for.

Last year, we had some people put, “Well, nobody else signed up from our city, so I guess I’ll do it.” I gotta tell ya—that doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in you as a leader. So, in short, we carefully read every Leader application and if you convinced us you’d make a good leader (and there are no other walks already planned in your city), then we approve you to lead a walk.

Q. What if my city already has a Photo Walk, but I want to lead a walk, too?
A. Some big cities can accommodate more than one walk, and so as soon as one starts to fill up, we add a 2nd walk if we have a leader apply and even a third or fourth depending on the response and city size. Also, if the walks are held geographically far from each other but technically in the same major city, we usually add those, too. (For example, New York City could have walks in Central Park, SoHo, Chinatown, and Times Square, and probably a half dozen other locations)

Q. What do I get for being a Photo Walk leader?
A. You get a free copy of my upcoming book, “Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it.” Plus, you get to pick the best shot from your local Photo Walk group and award them with a free copy of the book as well. Plus, that person is entered into the grand prize competition for a bunch of insane prizes (or they could wind up as one of my top-10 finalists, and still win lots of cool prizes). I’m even trying to come up with some prizes for my “special category” honorable mentions which I post a few days after the winner is chosen.

Q. Isn’t it crazy-expensive to give all those printed books to leaders and local walk winners all around the world?
A. It’s insanely expensive (you have no idea), which is why we couldn’t do this without the help, support, sponsorship, and hard work of my book Publisher, Peachpit Press, and my publisher Nancy Reunzel (and the whole Peachpit team). They are making this all possible, so please show them some big love by checking out their book site, following them on Twitter, and checking out other Peachpit titles (they publish Joe McNally’s books for example, and Moose Peterson’s, and David Zisers, and mine, plus all the cool new Photoshop and Lightroom books, and all the best books on everything we care about as photographers). In short; they rock!

Q. Do I have to enter the prize competition?
A. Absolutely not. This is a totally separate part of the experience, and if you don’t want to enter your images, you absolutely don’t have to (it’s just to make the experience more fun). You can go and shoot for the day, and never let anyone see your photos. Ever. They can be your private “secret” photos.

Q. Did you get any complaints about how the winners were chosen?
A. Are you kidding? Absolutely! People get pretty outraged if they think one of their images deserved to be the winner but wasn’t chosen. I have people send me angry emails because their leader picked what they (and their friends) think is the “wrong photo,” but hey—that’s the thing about art—its subjective. At the end, I pick one grand prize winner, and 10 finalists, and I catch some heat for that, too, but I’m OK with it. Surprisingly, I’ve never heard one single complaint about my picks from any of the winners. ;-)

Q. Are you going to have cool t-shirts for walkers and leaders this year?
A. You betcha! Each year, our friend Rob Jones from Towner Jones Photography, who came up with idea last year of selling t-shirts to raise money for (you guessed it), the Springs of Hope Orphanage in Kenya. 100% of the profits from the sale of these t-shirts will go to feeding and care for these great kids. Last year we raised over $7,000. This year, let’s make it $10,000!!!! I’m so grateful that Rob wanted to help us again this year. We’ll have a link to the online store where you can purchase your shirt later this week.

Q. So are you leading a Photo Walk again this year?
A. You betcha! My walk this year takes place in Downtown Tampa, Florida near the University of Tampa. It’s a ideal place for a Photo Walk, with really great opportunities to shoot architecture and people, plus we have the river nearby, and of course we’ll end at a super-yummy restaurant where we can all hang out, grab some lunch, and look at each other’s images (I can’t wait to see how many people bring iPads and pass them around. I’m bringing mine!).

Q. What happens when a city fills up?
A. It’s full. But this year, we do have waiting lists, so if someone cancels, it automatically adds (and notifies) the next person on the waiting list.

Q. How many is full?
A. Photo Walks are limited to 50 photographers. If that doesn’t sound like a lot, you haven’t seen 50 photographers coming down the sidewalk at the same time, and later all converging at once on a restaurant or pub. It’s more like a scary bike gang (except without the bikes, or gang, or scariness).

Q. I want to know more about this PhotoWalk thing; what’s involved, how do I sign up, and all that stuff. Where do I go?
A. There’s a detailed FAQ on the Website (here’s the link), and once you’re signed up for a walk, we’ve made it much easier for your Walk Leader to keep you up-to-date with messages on your local Walk page.

Q. Where do I go for the latest PhotoWalk information?
A. You can follow the official World Wide Photo Walk on Twitter (@KelbyWWPW) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/ScottKelbyPhotowalk). That’s where all the latest updates from me, and from official PhotoWalk Coordinator Brad Moore (and friends) will be posted.

Q. So when can I sign up to be either a walker or a Walk Leader?
A. Right now! Here’s the link, and I hope you join us this year as we make worldwide photographic history!